The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Polymeric elastomers, such as poly(dimethylsiloxane) or PDMS, are widely used as material for BioMEMs and have driven the needs to develop appropriate bonding technologies for its fabrication. Bonding of substrates has continuously been an important technical challenge in a range of electronic and biotechnological applications, such as the fabrication microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) or elastomeric microanalytical devices. Several bonding technologies including direct bonding, adhesive bonding, anodic bonding, solder or eutectic bonding, as well as thermocompression bonding have been established, but these methods are often limited to a specific substrates or involve the application of additional bonding chemicals or require harsh process conditions.□ For instance, bonding of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), widely used in biotechnological applications, typically requires oxidative pre-activation, such as oxygen plasma or UV/ozone treatments. Upon exposure to these highly oxidative environments, silanol groups (Si—OH) are created, which can result in strong intermolecular bond formation (Si—O—Si). However, the effects of oxidative activation are only temporary due to hydrophobic recovery and must be done immediately prior to bonding. In addition, this approach is limited to a small group of substrates, such as PDMS, silicon, or glass, impeding application to hybrid devices consisting of a multiple different materials.
Three-dimensional microgeometry and a more complex device structure will be an ideal scenario for microfluidic, MEMS and BioMEMs as the development of bonding technologies will be significant to realize the potential of these microdevices. Provided herein is a novel adhesive bonding method and devices produced therefrom, for various applications using advanced reactive polymer coatings, rendering a bonding process with clean, dry, more flexible for a wide range of substrates, and even more robust in bonding strength.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.